Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Key Points

• Lexicon Pharmaceuticals shares opened higher, rising from a previous close of $1.795 to $1.88 and last trading at $1.975 on volume of roughly 1.56 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage with an “overweight” rating and an $8 price target, while other firms issued downgrades. The stock carries an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $5.70.
• The company missed quarterly expectations, reporting a $0.06-per-share loss versus a projected $0.05 loss and revenue of $0.69 million versus a $3.99 million estimate. Institutional investors own approximately 74.7% of the outstanding shares.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $1.7950, but opened at $1.88. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $1.9750, with a volume of 1,560,266 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on LXRX. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Lexicon Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $5.70.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 13.37 and a quick ratio of 13.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $2.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.05. The stock has a market cap of $874.35 million, a P/E ratio of -13.10 and a beta of 1.02.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.01). Lexicon Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 37.53% and a negative net margin of 147.38%.The firm had revenue of $0.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.99 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Siren L.L.C. raised its position in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Siren L.L.C. now owns 44,303,518 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $69,113,000 after buying an additional 5,384,615 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Lexicon Pharmaceuticals by 508.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,600,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,497,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337,246 shares during the last quarter. Ishara Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $1,012,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $1,170,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $1,365,000. 74.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops medicines for human disease. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, the company uses its drug-discovery platform and expertise in biology to identify potential treatments for conditions with significant unmet medical needs.

Lexicon's marketed products include XERMELO (telotristat ethyl), an oral medicine used to treat carcinoid syndrome diarrhea in adults whose symptoms are not adequately controlled by somatostatin analog therapy.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.